Best Cities for Landscape Architectss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where landscape architectss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	AlabamaState	1.46	$101,220	$116,211	11%
2	TennesseeState	1.30	$95,250	$104,098	16%
3	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.29	$99,470	$103,399	19%
4	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.25	$97,280	$100,082	20%
5	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.25	$119,910	$99,759	31%
6	IowaState	1.22	$87,270	$97,836	13%
7	UtahState	1.18	$94,430	$94,242	19%
8	TexasState	1.17	$89,220	$93,326	19%
9	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$81,520	$89,386	18%
10	CaliforniaState	1.11	$98,380	$88,871	28%
11	North CarolinaState	1.11	$83,420	$88,369	19%
12	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.10	$92,970	$87,873	22%
13	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.10	$83,900	$87,578	21%
14	New JerseyState	1.09	$95,020	$87,335	23%
15	MissouriState	1.08	$76,670	$86,535	16%
16	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.07	$79,640	$85,819	19%
17	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.07	$78,880	$85,739	20%
18	MarylandState	1.06	$92,880	$85,055	22%
19	MontanaState	1.06	$81,330	$84,367	17%
20	NevadaState	1.06	$85,140	$84,970	20%
21	Rhode IslandState	1.06	$85,420	$84,995	21%
22	MichiganState	1.05	$77,670	$84,150	17%
23	KansasState	1.03	$73,760	$81,956	17%
24	MaineState	1.03	$82,440	$82,605	19%
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.03	$95,760	$82,197	28%
26	MassachusettsState	1.02	$88,000	$81,106	31%
27	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.02	$84,270	$81,420	23%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.01	$91,520	$80,634	34%
29	PennsylvaniaState	1.00	$77,130	$79,515	20%
30	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.00	$73,930	$79,924	19%
31	GeorgiaState	0.99	$73,570	$78,769	23%
32	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.99	$89,350	$79,211	27%
33	FloridaState	0.98	$79,650	$78,473	26%
34	New MexicoState	0.98	$71,990	$78,250	17%
35	VirginiaState	0.98	$81,380	$78,628	23%
36	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.98	$75,980	$78,492	26%
37	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.98	$77,040	$78,213	27%
38	KentuckyState	0.97	$68,460	$77,356	17%
39	New YorkState	0.97	$87,360	$77,653	25%
40	South DakotaState	0.97	$70,620	$77,775	16%
41	IdahoState	0.96	$73,950	$76,632	19%
42	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.95	$82,630	$76,157	30%
43	WisconsinState	0.94	$69,520	$75,320	19%
44	ArizonaState	0.93	$75,310	$74,638	24%
45	ColoradoState	0.93	$78,290	$74,279	28%
46	District of ColumbiaState	0.93	$85,100	$74,453	30%
47	OklahomaState	0.91	$64,370	$72,734	18%
48	IndianaState	0.90	$64,980	$71,801	19%
49	WashingtonState	0.90	$76,720	$71,500	30%
50	ConnecticutState	0.89	$76,680	$71,264	25%
51	OregonState	0.89	$73,600	$71,456	26%
52	ArkansasState	0.88	$60,840	$70,498	17%
53	OhioState	0.88	$63,790	$70,564	20%
54	IllinoisState	0.87	$67,460	$69,261	23%
55	Columbus, OHMetro	0.87	$64,660	$69,155	24%
56	NebraskaState	0.85	$62,170	$67,945	20%
57	VermontState	0.85	$69,740	$68,039	25%
58	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.85	$73,600	$68,275	29%
59	New HampshireState	0.84	$71,500	$67,453	27%
60	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.84	$76,730	$67,130	34%
61	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.77	$61,010	$61,317	29%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).